Part 22 (2/2)

As we cleared the table, the doorbell rang. Yossi motioned for me to stay where I was. He picked up the gun and slipped it inside his vest. He wore clean clothes he'd fetched from an overnight bag in his truck: black T-s.h.i.+rt, jeans, and a blue bandana. Yossi bent down to look through the peephole. He turned toward me and all the color drained out of his face. My heart started to race.

Beavers? Kaplan? Army Special Forces?

He muttered a four-letter word and opened the door.

Sonia!

She smiled at him; he looked over at me; I mouthed, ”OMG!”

”Did you see her last night?” She took a tiny step toward him.

”See what?” He took a step backward, bare foot landing heavily on the wooden floor. His boots were still under my bed.

She looked at me. ”The army jeep, of course. She drove by your house several times yesterday evening.”

Crusher and I looked at each other. Army jeeps were the last thing on our minds last night.

He scratched his head. ”Uh, I guess I missed that.”

Sonia frowned. ”I thought you were supposed to be guarding Martha. Where were you? I saw your truck here all night.”

Neither one of us said a word and the silence deepened.

Then her mouth fell open and her eyes got wide.

I tried to smile, but my face felt all rubbery and fake.

Then she noticed Crusher's bare feet. ”Oh, I get it.”

I felt like a traitor. ”Sonia, I-”

Her shoulders slumped and she held up her hand. ”Never mind. I just thought you were on my side. I thought we were friends.” She turned to leave.

”We are friends. I'd never deliberately hurt you, honestly. It's just that, well, things changed.”

”Obviously.” She stared at Crusher's bare feet.

Crusher finally found his voice. ”You're a nice lady, Sonia, but I've always liked Martha. I'm sorry if I gave you a different idea.”

Sonia sighed. ”No, you didn't.” Then she glared at me. ”What about your cop boyfriend? What about him?”

”We're not together anymore.”

She thought for a moment. ”So . . . does that mean he's free now?”

I swallowed. I hesitated to mention that Beavers was probably spending all his free time in the arms of a lady vet.

I walked up to Sonia and took her hand. ”Look, I've just made some fresh coffee. Why don't we sit down-I want to hear about the jeep.”

She gave Crusher's feet one last disapproving glance and followed me into the kitchen. We took our mugs to the table, where the sugar and cream still sat from breakfast.

”Last night at eight, the EAP spotter observed a redheaded woman driving an army jeep.”

Lawanda Price.

Crusher scratched the back of his neck. ”What does EAP mean?”

”The neighborhood patrol put in place our enemy attack plan when we found out someone was after Martha.”

I asked, ”So you mean you actually placed a spotter on someone's rooftop?”

”Yup. Ron and Yuki Wilson's teenage grandson, Parker, hid on Ed's roof with a pair of binoculars and a walkie-talkie. It's a primo spot because the overhanging mulberry branches made a perfect blind for him to sit in. Anyway, he logged four pa.s.ses in front of your house between eight and nine p.m. He said she drove slowly, almost as if she wanted to be seen.”

I was pretty sure Barbara Hardisty sent Lawanda Price to frighten me. Too bad for them. Instead of being scared, I was probably in the throes of a pet.i.te mort with Yossi at the time of the drive-by. My cheeks heated red at the memory. ”What happened?”

”Ron grabbed his pistol and drove over in his Buick. Tony came separately on his scooter.”

I was confused. ”No disrespect, but what could Tony do from his scooter?”

”He brought a big camera and deliberately positioned himself in your driveway so she would see him taking her photo. It worked. She left and never came back.”

Crusher raised his eyebrows. ”So you drove off an enemy attack? Cool.”

I was glad to see Sonia soften a little with his praise. Hopefully, she would come to accept a new reality that didn't include Crusher.

”What are you going to do now?” she asked.

I took a sip of coffee. ”I'm not sure yet. Tomorrow is Dax Martin's memorial service at the baseball stadium. Maybe something will turn up there.”

Sonia stood and looked from Crusher to me. ”Mazal tov.”

I jumped up and hugged her. ”We're still friends, right?”

She nodded and went back to her house.

”Yossi, I'm thinking maybe I overreacted to Lawanda Price's threat. From what Sonia just told us, Price only wants to scare me. Maybe I don't need a twenty-four-hour guard. I think I'll be safe enough alone. Why don't you go back to your shop? After all, you have a business to run.”

Not to mention, I need some breathing room.

”You ain't getting rid of me that easily, babe. Don't worry. I've got the shop covered. Wherever you are, I'm there, too, until the killer is caught.” He gave me a meaningful look. ”And long afterward.”

I started pacing. Partly from anger about being stalked, but mostly from panic at his ”long afterward” remark. ”Well, I just can't sit around doing nothing. I'm thinking the best defense is an offense. I'm going to the Army Corps of Engineers office downtown and confront Barbara Hardisty. Once she knows I've already told the police everything I know about her corruption, she'll no longer have a reason to try to intimidate me.” I turned to Crusher. ”Are you in?”

He slipped on his socks and boots. Then he stood with the keys to his truck. ”Babe, you've got enough stones to make you an honorary guy.”

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